Prudential PLC Enters Cambodia

Prudential, the UK-based, international insurance giant, has been given the go-ahead in principle from Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance to establish a wholly foreign-owned life insurance operation in the country. The move will also make Prudential one of the first entrants into a market. 

Prudential’s announcement of its plans to enter the Cambodian market comes seven months after another insurance giant with a significant presence in Asia, Toronto-based Manulife, said it had received “approval in principle” from the Cambodian regulator to begin marketing its products to Cambodian clients.

Prudential noted that demand for financial and life insurance products in Cambodia is expected to grow rapidly. The country is experiencing “robust economic growth, with 11% compound annual growth rate of GDP during the last decade, as well as a growing urban population, with per capita GDP across the whole population increasing from $468 in 2005 to more than $853 in 2011.

Prudential first established a representative office in Phnom Penh in December 2010.